Substance Abuse | Club Drugs

Ecstasy

What is Ecstasy?

MDMA or Ecstasy (3-4 methylenedioxymethamphetamine) is a synthetic drug with amphetamine-like and hallucinogenic properties.

Often referred as the "hug drug," Ecstasy combines the stimulant effects of speed with feelings of euphoria and a heightened sense of touch, smell, sight, and sound. Users report enhanced feelings of self-confidence, empathy, closeness, and acceptance of others.

The "high" sensation is felt because the drug causes the brain to release large amounts of serotonin – a neurotransmitter that regulates mood, memory, appetite, sleep, and body temperature. When the drug wears off, the brain cannot refuel fast enough and the person "crashes," or becomes severely depressed.

What are the street names/slang terms for MDNA?

Ecstasy, E, Adam, Bean, M, X, XTC

How is it used?

Ecstasy comes in a tablet form that is often branded, e.g., Playboy bunnies, Nike, Swoosh, CK, or Mercedes. Users sometimes take Ecstasy pills at "raves" to keep on dancing and for mood enhancement. Teens and college students have reported frequent users and sellers on school grounds and in local communities.

Ecstasy suppresses the body's thermoregulatory system, putting users at risk of dehydration and overheating, which can lead to the breakdown of muscles, heart, and kidneys.
Increased heart rate and blood pressure can be dangerous for people with circulatory or heart disease.

MDMA use is linked to long-term damage to those parts of the brain critical to thought and memory, and could cause chronic depression. Chronic use of MDMA was found to produce long-lasting, perhaps permanent, damage to the neurons that release serotonin, resulting in memory impairment.

MDMA users may become addicted to the drug, similar to the addiction risks for other stimulants, such as amphetamines and cocaine.

Ecstasy can be extremely dangerous in high doses.

GHB

What is GHB?

GHB (gamma hydroxybutyrate) was originally available over the counter in health food stores to aid body builders. It is a powerful, rapidly acting central nervous system depressant that is abused to produce euphoric and hallucinatory state. It is said to release a growth hormone and stimulate muscle growth, but this alleged benefit has never been proven.

GHB was developed in Europe as an anesthetic in the 1950's. It was introduced in the United States in the early 1960's, but was rejected by the medical community in 1964 after it was found to cause convulsions in animals. Although it was sold in health food stores for years as a food supplement, the medical community soon became aware that is caused overdoses and other health problems. The FDA banned it in 1990.

Most GHB is created in clandestine laboratories where purity and quality cannot be guaranteed.

What are the street names/slang terms for GHB?

Liquid X, Liquid E, Georgia Home Boy, Grievous Bodily harm, Max, G

How is it used?

GHB can be found in liquid form or as a white powdered material. It is taken orally and is frequently combined with beverages – particularly alcohol.

Users may experience a loss of senses, loss of time, and loss of identity which can last anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours.

Users experience hallucinations and visual distortions similar to PCP. They call these effects "K-Land."

Larger doses can produce a more frightening experience that feels like an out-of-body, near-death experience, referred to as the "K-Hole."

LSD

What is LSD?

LSD (Lysergic Acid Diethylamide) is a hallucinogen. Hallucinogens – also called "psychedelics" – are drugs that distort one's perceptions of reality. These distorted perceptions include physical and visual delusions, hallucinations (experiencing imaginary sensations), and distorted sense of time, space, direction, and distance.

What are the street names/slang terms for LSD?

Acid, Windowpane, Microdot, Yellow Sunshine, Boomers

Typically taken by mouth, it can come in the form of tablets, capsules, liquid, thin squares of gelatin, or on a piece of paper to be licked.

What are the effects of LSD?

Hallucinogens stimulate the part of the central nervous system that controls the senses. Abnormalities in sensory perceptions result.

The effects are unpredictable and depend on the amount taken, the surroundings in which the drug is used, and the user's personality, mood, and expectations.

There are two long-term disorders associated with LSD: psychosis and "flashback" i.e., the recurrence of a "trip" (a hallucinogenic experience) from previous LSD use.

A "bad trip" could include terrifying thoughts, fears of losing control, fear of insanity and death, and flashbacks after the fact.

OxyContin

What is OxyContin?

OxyContin is a painkiller manufactured by Purdue Pharma L.P. and prescribed by doctors to treat cancer patient and those with chronic, long-lasting back pain. The active ingredient is oxycodone hydrochloride, which is found in other prescription pain relievers such as Percodan. Gram for gram, oxycodone is twice as potent as heroin. Although OxyContin contains a much larger amount of oxycodone than in other pain medications, a time-release system keeps it from being released too quickly. It is the number one ranked opioid painkiller because it allows a patient to take far fewer pills. One OxyContin is four to thirty times stronger than one Percodan.

OxyContin abuse began a few years ago in remote and economically depressed areas of Maine, Appalachia (Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky), Pennsylvania, and Ohio. These areas have a large number of people in physical pain (often from injuries related to the type of industries there, such as logging). It has since spread to cities and their suburbs across the United States and most recently has hit the "rave" and club scene.

What are the street names/slang terms for OxyContin?

Oxy, Poor Man's Heroin, Hillbilly Heroin, OC, Oxycotton, Killer

How is it used?

OxyContin abusers either crush the tablet and ingest or snort it or dilute it in water and inject it. Crushing or diluting the tablet destroys the time-release mechanism and causes a quick powerful high that users compare to heroin.

What are the effects of OxyContin?

OxyContin suppresses the respiratory system. When combined with alcohol or other depressants, it is often deadly.

Taken in high doses, OxyContin alone can kill you.

The drug is rapidly addictive and very difficult to quit abusing.

OxyContin addiction is treated similar to heroin addiction, often with methadone.

Abrupt withdrawal from the drug may be dangerous.

What are the symptoms of an overdose?

pinpoint pupils, reduced vision, nausea, vomiting, constipation

slow breathing, i.e., less than 10 times a minute; normal respirations are around 12-20 times per minute

If you suspect the person has overdosed, try to keep him or her awake and call 911!

Rohypnol

What is Rohypnol?

Flunitrazepam, which is marketed under the brand name Rohypnol, is a powerful central nervous depressant that produces sedative-hypnotic effects, muscle relaxation, and amnesia. This prescription sedative is manufactured by the Hoffmann-LaRoche Company and has never been legally prescribed in the United States. The drug is seven to ten times stronger than Valium. A two-milligram pill has more intoxicating power than a six pack of beer.

Rohypnol has been used in Europe and South America since the 1970's as a means to relax patients before surgery and as a treatment for insomnia and is now available in more than 60 countries. The addictive drug has turned up in nearly every state in the U.S. In 1996, the federal government established a 15-year sentence for possessing or using the drug in America.

Street Names/Slang Terms

Forget-Me Pills, Roofies, Roach, Ribs, Rope

How is it used?

It is usually taken orally, often combined with alcohol, and can be abused by crushing the tablets and snorting the powder.

What are the effects of Rohypnol?

The following symptoms can last 12 or more hours; drowsiness, dizziness, disorientation, lack of coordination, slurred speech, confusion, nausea and gastrointestinal disturbances.

Confusion, loss of motor control, and difficulty speaking and moving are followed by memory loss.

It impairs cognitive and psychomotor functions, affecting reaction time and driving skills.

Rohypnol combined with alcohol is particularly dangerous and can cause coma.

Higher doses produce respiratory depression.

Chronic use can result in physical dependence and the appearance of withdrawal syndrome when the drug is discontinued.

Rohypnol and Sexual Assault

The most severe side effect of the drug is short-term amnesia, where the user temporarily experiences a complete loss of memory. This accounts for Rohypnol's nicknames, the "Forget Pill" or the "Date Rape Drug." The tiny tasteless, odorless, and colorless pill can be easily slipped into a person's drink. When sexual assault is committed, the victims may not be able to recall the assault, the assailant, or the events surrounding the assault.